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In the first episode of the OPGA Fellows Podcast, Nathalie Gasaro and Gerard Anapu speak with Csaba K\u0151r\u00f6si, the President of the United Nations General Assembly. They ask him if his priorities of \u201cSolutions through Solidarity, Sustainability and Science\u201d still make sense for today\u2019s world. How 193 Member States with different priorities can work together. And how he defines success.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0Bio of Csaba K\u0151r\u00f6si, the President of the United Nations General Assembly<\/a><\/p>\n Bios of the PGA Fellows and more information about the PGA Fellowship Programme\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Episode Transcript:<\/strong><\/p>\n PGA K\u0151r\u00f6si:<\/strong> I would consider success for our work together with you. In my presidency, that my daughter would not feel embarrassed of me. And I hope that Member States will find our work useful. If they do, it means we did a good job.<\/p>\n [Opening]<\/strong> Drum roll. My name is Amr Shamun from the Maldives. My name is Aime Triana from Cuba. My name is Syuzanna Martirosyan from Armenia. My name is Mmoloki Tsheole from the Republic of Botswana. My name is Nathalie Gasaro, and I’m from Rwanda. My name is Gerard Anapu from Samoa. This is a podcast. This is the podcast of the United Nations OPGA Fellows.<\/p>\n PGA K\u0151r\u00f6si: <\/strong>Good morning, Nathalie and a very good morning Gerard. So my name is Csaba, Csaba K\u0151r\u00f6si. More importantly, I’m a father of a girl. I have a daughter who has just turned 25 this week. I’m a husband of Edit, who is an economist. And I happen to be the President of the General Assembly of the United Nations after having been elected last June. And I’m a person who tries to design his days during the morning swim or morning running to make sure that good ideas can reach my thinking at the very early time, and to put the day into order.<\/p>\n Gerard:<\/strong> Happiest birthday to your daughter.<\/p>\n PGA K\u0151r\u00f6si:<\/strong> Thank you. I will convey to her. Very kind of you.<\/p>\n Nathalie:<\/strong> It’s a great age. 25. (Yeah). A long time ago.<\/p>\n PGA K\u0151r\u00f6si:<\/strong> As I look at you both, it should not be a long time ago.<\/p>\n Gerard:<\/strong> Your priorities for this 77 session of the General Assembly have been built around solidarity, sustainability and science. You still think that these are the right priorities for the road in 2023 and beyond?<\/p>\n PGA K\u0151r\u00f6si:<\/strong> Gerard let us not forget the first part of the so-called motto, which is solutions. Solutions through solidarity, sustainability, and science. It was a motto of my presidency, which is a kind of abbreviation of your philosophy, your priorities. And I still believe that time has not eroded their relevance. And it is a little short description of a big transformation. But you know let’s be very much aware and frank, big transformations don’t happen in one year. They must be designed for many years to come. If you are in the middle of a crisis and you design something, how you will weather those crises? You have to make long-term perspectives. So back to your question, I think the priorities still stand. I think we should follow them. I believe in them. And I hope Member States have not rejected them.<\/p>\n Gerard:<\/strong> Thank you very much, Mr. President, and having said that, crisis management and transformation is something that you’ve also asked the General Assembly to strive towards. Can you tell us if you have seen any tangible differences in how the General Assembly is approaching its work?<\/p>\n PGA K\u0151r\u00f6si:<\/strong> Nathalie and Gerard, you are part of my team. So you’re working very closely with me and you know that each and every company, each and every institution, each and every organization, must have some strategy. Particle in time of crisis. And when you build strategies, you have to make your priorities. Now, what is the case with the General Assembly? As the General Assembly started its 77 session, and let’s explain to the listeners, it is the start of work in September 2022. So when the General Assembly started its work at this session. It had 181 items on its agenda. It means that without any structuring without any prioritization, you have so-called 181 priorities. If for one year you have 181 priorities, it means you have no priorities. And in time of crisis, it’s a very dangerous situation. When you don’t make differentiation of issues of huge strategic importance and issues of a different nature. So that’s way I suggested to Member States, that whatever issue we take into consideration, let’s look into them through the lenses of crisis management and transformation. Crisis management because once we are in crisis, we have to make sure that we all survive this crisis. And transformation because we have to make sure that we will all have a future. Not only the today’s generation, but the generations after us. Not only this organization, but all the Member States and all those who are working with us. And therefore, through these two lenses, I suggested Member States to look at matters. Who am I to tell Member States that they should eliminate certain part of the agenda? I could make some suggestions, but I don’t have the power for that. So let’s accept what has been mandated, this mandated, it might be sometimes too much. But at least let’s take them through a certain angle that helps Member States today and tomorrow. But you’re absolutely right. Your question is very pertinent. Does it have any impact on the work of the General Assembly? Time will tell. The negotiation processes, as you may know, there are 16 negotiating processes at the same time in the General Assembly, have been built on this logic already. And the briefings, informal meetings, all follow this kind of approach. What does it mean for us on the short-run and what does it mean for us on the long-run? And let’s not forget the UN Water Conference, which has been convinced the first time since 1977, h as been constructed on the same very principle. But what are we going to do on a very short-run? Because we are in a water crisis. And how are we going to make a transformation because this world, nations, countries, communities, nature, biodiversity, will have reliable water supplies. So that logic has been implemented and it worked well. So time will tell how deeply this approach – particularly in time of crises – can work, but I’m still hopeful.<\/p>\n Gerard:<\/strong> I think your presidency has been a very ambitious in terms of mandates that are given to you by the Member States, especially post pandemic, but you know different regions, different countries have their own areas of priorities in terms of what their focus is – whether it’s climate change, conflict, gender.<\/p>\n PGA K\u0151r\u00f6si:<\/strong> Absolutely.<\/p>\n Nathalie:<\/strong> We have a common agenda, but we have different, I think, priorities as countries, regions, so it’s not an easy task to demand States to not know.<\/p>\n PGA K\u0151r\u00f6si:<\/strong> No, it’s not an easy task, but it’s quite natural what you are saying. Because we are 193 very, very different entities. Very different levels of development. Very different paths to development. Very different natural environment. Very different population. Very different heritage. And very different political setup. So when we try to create goals and when we try to create some kind of understanding where we go. It is not a blueprint for everybody to be implemented 100% in the country. And these are blueprints, including the SDGs, these are blueprints to be translated into national realities. And to create a kind of national approach, national implementation strategies. Some countries are doing it very successfully. Some countries are a little bit on the wait-and-see position. Interestingly, those who embarked on the road that we agreed on the strategic goals, let’s now make it ours. Let’s translate according to our priorities, according to our traditions, possibilities. These countries are the best performing countries. Not for some kind of examination system, but for their own development.<\/p>\n Nathalie:<\/strong> You were mentioning earlier, but the UN Water Conference that was held recently, at the end of March this year. In your opinion, why do you think this, do you want to Conference was really important to the world?<\/p>\n PGA K\u0151r\u00f6si:<\/strong> The moment came when the world came together. And it resulted in a breakthrough. It was built on an acknowledgment that we are in the midst of the water crisis. It’s not a scenario for the future. It’s not a threat. It’s the reality for today. And this reality is underlined every day and made more serious every day by the climate change. And it echoed across the whole chamber that water, what we have on this globe is a part of the global common goods. It entails immediately, that we are responsible for having changed, having modified this cycle, hydrogen cycle, and we are only jointly capable of putting it under control again, if we have any chance. And there was also a kind of understanding which made the breakthrough possible that the Member States acknowledged that we crossed the tipping point on the planetary boundaries on fresh water. And on this ground, the results came relatively easily. They were 730 commitments made by countries, companies, banks, and other organizations. We counted the value of the commitments and only those commitments that were enumerated in terms of dollars, Euro, yen, or whatever, and the immediate, immediate commitments were $340 billion of investment. And if you count them, how much value they can unlock within 5 to 6 years, it was over $1 trillion. So it’s really something that makes a difference in the life of the international community. And on the global water action plan, actually an agenda that has been developed by the end of this conference. On that, we identified 9 real gamechangers. It was one of the outcomes of this conference. If we implement those 9 gamechangers, we’ll have a good chance. But now, the time is for action. Because Mar del Plata, which, as you mentioned, was the last water conference in 1977, came up with brilliant ideas. Including the integrated water resource management, which was revolutionary at that time. But had no implementation of plan and no follow-up mechanism. So all the good results, all the good agreements, all the good scientific evidence remained up in the air. And Member States went in a different directions. Now we’re trying to work very hard to make sure that whatever we came up with, what we agreed, there should be very strict follow-up mechanisms in institutional terms, in validation terms, in terms of investments, in terms of impact-oriented investment.<\/p>\n Nathalie:<\/strong> I think one of the key issues that was raised also was the economics of water and the financing challenges. So that was mentioned during the conference. And in terms of that, how have our current economic models with GDP impacted for you how we use our disregard water?<\/p>\n PGA K\u0151r\u00f6si:<\/strong> It’s a very interesting question, even if we apply only to water, though it can be applied to all areas of development. How we usually measure our activities, traditionally, and politicians like it, and many economists like it. We usually measure in terms of GDP. Gross domestic product. But the GDP is not a measurement for development. GDP is a measurement of the material flow and the flow of services. We need to find the measurement and the system of evaluation of our development, which is much, much broader than the material flow, and the flow of services. All our actions, all our investments, all our policies have various impacts, various implications. Some of them are the intended ones. This is usually what we count. And some others are the side impacts. Economists used to call them externalities. We usually don’t count them because we don’t want to count them. We are focusing on what we want to achieve, and we forget to count on what we still impact, but it is not the intentional impact. It’s a very dangerous situation. Let me give you some examples of the unintentional consequences of our deeds and actions: Climate change. Water crisis. Declined biodiversity, pollution of oceans. Degradation of soil across the globe. So this is consequences. These are the crisis components that determine our lives. And we still do not pay attention enough to take on board all the impacts. Be them on human capital, social capital, natural capital, and build capital. And we are only cherry picking. If we cherry picking the results, what we get will not be corresponding to the real result of our actions in the world. Now, how does it look like in the case of water as you have asked? All our productions, all our services, all our actions do have a so-called water footprint. Each and every action needs some kind of water during the production, during the manufacturing. And that water footprint is usually not counted, very subtle counted. It means that while, with the best intention, we try to produce valuable things. We try to boost our economies. We may overuse the available food resources. We may deplete our water resources. And all of a sudden we may discover that the available water level under the ground starts to decreasing. Which is the case in most of the countries. We may discover that the available water resources get very much polluted. Unworthy even for agriculture. There is a need to pay attention to all impacts, what we have on the water resources, and there might be a good, a better economic decision of where to change the production. How to change the production. Maybe even in the agriculture. Agriculture is using 75% of the fresh water available. Maybe we will need certain produce, certain products that are very, very thirsty, very water consuming in the area where water is in scarcity. It’s unfair to ask farmers that please produce very water intensive products and export it. It means that you export your non-renewable water resources. So water is more and more becoming an element what we have to take in to consideration when we design in a certain place. In a certain community, in a certain country. Products be them manufactured, or formed.<\/p>\n Nathalie:<\/strong> That’s very important. And I think the discussions that are happening right now and expanding the GDP are feeding into the world being able to achieve the SDGs. So very critical.<\/p>\n Gerard:<\/strong> I think that’s an excellent description and explanation that you put there, Mr. President. You know for us, for personally, from Samoa, the issue of water for us is access to clean water, which may be different from the case of Rwanda, maybe different from the case of your country in Hungary. You know, we all have these different issues that we face with. It’s important now that we’re taking a look at this issue because having read studies also that say we are in excess of the water supply that we’re using is more than 40% at the moment, which is something that is a big number, as well, as we think about it. Rightly put with climate change and natural disasters that happen. I’ve seen it firsthand, as well. Access to water, which is sometimes nonexistent in countries where these are disasters.<\/p>\n PGA K\u0151r\u00f6si:<\/strong> I fully agree with you. And we used to talk a lot about climate crisis. Rightly so. But let us not forget that climate change and climate crisis for most of our communities appears in the form of water crisis. 80% of the climate is manifested through water. And water crisis will test communities much earlier and much harsher than the temperature of the air. You can live without food for two or three weeks. You can live quite a few days or weeks without love. But you can not live without water longer than a couple of days. So we have to make sure that both the human consumption and the needs of our economies, and the needs of the environment, which is the largest producer and consumer of water, it should be met. These are the constraints. This is the good integrated water resource management.<\/p>\n Gerard:<\/strong> How can you, in your view, define transformative gamechanger? Because also, I think if people hear, you know, this is something that you always speak to as well. Gamechangers and transformative actions to find solutions. And then perhaps also if you can define the success of your term as President.<\/p>\n PGA K\u0151r\u00f6si:<\/strong> Concerning the game changers, we use this term in quite frequently. Let me explain in the case of the SDGs. We are halfway through the period of the implementation of the SDGs. But we are way off track. In some cases, we know we are going to the wrong direction. So it is not an issue of doing the same just a little bit faster and a little bit more intensive. But doing it in a different direction. A gamechanger might be a solution that is offering you a systemic solution which is taking into consideration multiple impacts, changing the nature of the direction of our actions. Just like in the case of water, we need to learn how to integrate our water and climate policies. And you will see it will be very, very different ball game. We need to learn also, another example, how to imply science for the validation of the implementation of the commitments. And it’s also a gamechanger what you mentioned, we need to develop new economics of sustainable development. So we need to develop that methodology.<\/p>\n For success, as you ask, I would consider success for our work together with you, in my presidency, that my daughter would not feel embarrassed of me. And I hope that Member States we will find our work useful. If they do, it means we did a good job. We were successful.<\/p>\n Gerard:<\/strong> Thank you very much, Mr. President. I feel like we could stay here all day and listen to you about the different issues that we work on.<\/p>\n PGA K\u0151r\u00f6si:<\/strong> Thank you indeed. I’m very much counting on you. You brought very, very good perspectives into our work. Welcome on board.<\/p>\n Nathalie:<\/strong> Thank you very much. And the UN people and language like to say, let’s not do business as usual. And let’s take this continue to push.<\/p>\n [Closing]<\/strong> This is the podcast of the United Nations OPGA Fellows. Thanks for listening.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In the first episode of the OPGA Fellows Podcast, Nathalie Gasaro and Gerard Anapu speak with Csaba K\u0151r\u00f6si, the President of the United Nations General Assembly. They ask him if […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":360,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/77\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/105\/2023\/05\/soundcloud.png\")
LISTEN to Episode #1 on Soundcloud\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n\r\n\r\nIn the first episode of the OPGA Fellows Podcast, Nathalie Gasaro and Gerard Anapu speak with Csaba K\u0151r\u00f6si, the President of the United Nations General Assembly. They ask him if his priorities of \u201cSolutions through Solidarity, Sustainability and Science\u201d still make sense for today\u2019s world. How 193 Member States with different priorities can work together. And how he defines success.\r\n\r\n LISTEN to Episode #1 on Soundcloud\u00a0<\/a>\r\n\r\n\u00a0\r\n\r\nBio of Csaba K\u0151r\u00f6si, the President of the United Nations General Assembly<\/a>\r\n\r\nBios of the PGA Fellows and more information about the PGA Fellowship Programme\u00a0<\/a>\r\n\r\n\u00a0\r\n\r\nEpisode Transcript:<\/strong>\r\n\r\nPGA K\u0151r\u00f6si:<\/strong> I would consider success for our work together with you. In my presidency, that my daughter would not feel embarrassed of me. And I hope that Member States will find our work useful. If they do, it means we did a good job.\r\n\r\n[Opening]<\/strong> Drum roll. My name is Amr Shamun from the Maldives. My name is Aime Triana from Cuba. My name is Syuzanna Martirosyan from Armenia. My name is Mmoloki Tsheole from the Republic of Botswana. My name is Nathalie Gasaro, and I'm from Rwanda. My name is Gerard Anapu from Samoa. This is a podcast. This is the podcast of the United Nations OPGA Fellows.\r\n\r\nPGA K\u0151r\u00f6si: <\/strong>Good morning, Nathalie and a very good morning Gerard. So my name is Csaba, Csaba K\u0151r\u00f6si. More importantly, I'm a father of a girl. I have a daughter who has just turned 25 this week. I'm a husband of Edit, who is an economist. And I happen to be the President of the General Assembly of the United Nations after having been elected last June. And I'm a person who tries to design his days during the morning swim or morning running to make sure that good ideas can reach my thinking at the very early time, and to put the day into order.\r\n\r\nGerard:<\/strong> Happiest birthday to your daughter.\r\n\r\nPGA K\u0151r\u00f6si:<\/strong> Thank you. I will convey to her. Very kind of you.\r\n\r\nNathalie:<\/strong> It's a great age. 25. (Yeah). A long time ago.\r\n\r\nPGA K\u0151r\u00f6si:<\/strong> As I look at you both, it should not be a long time ago.\r\n\r\nGerard:<\/strong> Your priorities for this 77 session of the General Assembly have been built around solidarity, sustainability and science. You still think that these are the right priorities for the road in 2023 and beyond?\r\n\r\nPGA K\u0151r\u00f6si:<\/strong> Gerard let us not forget the first part of the so-called motto, which is solutions. Solutions through solidarity, sustainability, and science. It was a motto of my presidency, which is a kind of abbreviation of your philosophy, your priorities. And I still believe that time has not eroded their relevance. And it is a little short description of a big transformation. But you know let's be very much aware and frank, big transformations don't happen in one year. They must be designed for many years to come. If you are in the middle of a crisis and you design something, how you will weather those crises? You have to make long-term perspectives. So back to your question, I think the priorities still stand. I think we should follow them. I believe in them. And I hope Member States have not rejected them.\r\n\r\nGerard:<\/strong> Thank you very much, Mr. President, and having said that, crisis management and transformation is something that you've also asked the General Assembly to strive towards. Can you tell us if you have seen any tangible differences in how the General Assembly is approaching its work?\r\n\r\nPGA K\u0151r\u00f6si:<\/strong> Nathalie and Gerard, you are part of my team. So you're working very closely with me and you know that each and every company, each and every institution, each and every organization, must have some strategy. Particle in time of crisis. And when you build strategies, you have to make your priorities. Now, what is the case with the General Assembly? As the General Assembly started its 77 session, and let's explain to the listeners, it is the start of work in September 2022. So when the General Assembly started its work at this session. It had 181 items on its agenda. It means that without any structuring without any prioritization, you have so-called 181 priorities. If for one year you have 181 priorities, it means you have no priorities. And in time of crisis, it's a very dangerous situation. When you don't make differentiation of issues of huge strategic importance and issues of a different nature. So that's way I suggested to Member States, that whatever issue we take into consideration, let's look into them through the lenses of crisis management and transformation. Crisis management because once we are in crisis, we have to make sure that we all survive this crisis. And transformation because we have to make sure that we will all have a future. Not only the today's generation, but the generations after us. Not only this organization, but all the Member States and all those who are working with us. And therefore, through these two lenses, I suggested Member States to look at matters. Who am I to tell Member States that they should eliminate certain part of the agenda? I could make some suggestions, but I don't have the power for that. So let's accept what has been mandated, this mandated, it might be sometimes too much. But at least let's take them through a certain angle that helps Member States today and tomorrow. But you're absolutely right. Your question is very pertinent. Does it have any impact on the work of the General Assembly? Time will tell. The negotiation processes, as you may know, there are 16 negotiating processes at the same time in the General Assembly, have been built on this logic already. And the briefings, informal meetings, all follow this kind of approach. What does it mean for us on the short-run and what does it mean for us on the long-run? And let's not forget the UN Water Conference, which has been convinced the first time since 1977, h as been constructed on the same very principle. But what are we going to do on a very short-run? Because we are in a water crisis. And how are we going to make a transformation because this world, nations, countries, communities, nature, biodiversity, will have reliable water supplies. So that logic has been implemented and it worked well. So time will tell how deeply this approach - particularly in time of crises - can work, but I'm still hopeful.\r\n\r\nGerard:<\/strong> I think your presidency has been a very ambitious in terms of mandates that are given to you by the Member States, especially post pandemic, but you know different regions, different countries have their own areas of priorities in terms of what their focus is - whether it's climate change, conflict, gender.\r\n\r\nPGA K\u0151r\u00f6si:<\/strong> Absolutely.\r\n\r\nNathalie:<\/strong> We have a common agenda, but we have different, I think, priorities as countries, regions, so it's not an easy task to demand States to not know.\r\n\r\nPGA K\u0151r\u00f6si:<\/strong> No, it's not an easy task, but it's quite natural what you are saying. Because we are 193 very, very different entities. Very different levels of development. Very different paths to development. Very different natural environment. Very different population. Very different heritage. And very different political setup. So when we try to create goals and when we try to create some kind of understanding where we go. It is not a blueprint for everybody to be implemented 100% in the country. And these are blueprints, including the SDGs, these are blueprints to be translated into national realities. And to create a kind of national approach, national implementation strategies. Some countries are doing it very successfully. Some countries are a little bit on the wait-and-see position. Interestingly, those who embarked on the road that we agreed on the strategic goals, let's now make it ours. Let's translate according to our priorities, according to our traditions, possibilities. These countries are the best performing countries. Not for some kind of examination system, but for their own development.\r\n\r\nNathalie:<\/strong> You were mentioning earlier, but the UN Water Conference that was held recently, at the end of March this year. In your opinion, why do you think this, do you want to Conference was really important to the world?\r\n\r\nPGA K\u0151r\u00f6si:<\/strong> The moment came when the world came together. And it resulted in a breakthrough. It was built on an acknowledgment that we are in the midst of the water crisis. It's not a scenario for the future. It's not a threat. It's the reality for today. And this reality is underlined every day and made more serious every day by the climate change. And it echoed across the whole chamber that water, what we have on this globe is a part of the global common goods. It entails immediately, that we are responsible for having changed, having modified this cycle, hydrogen cycle, and we are only jointly capable of putting it under control again, if we have any chance. And there was also a kind of understanding which made the breakthrough possible that the Member States acknowledged that we crossed the tipping point on the planetary boundaries on fresh water. And on this ground, the results came relatively easily. They were 730 commitments made by countries, companies, banks, and other organizations. We counted the value of the commitments and only those commitments that were enumerated in terms of dollars, Euro, yen, or whatever, and the immediate, immediate commitments were $340 billion of investment. And if you count them, how much value they can unlock within 5 to 6 years, it was over $1 trillion. So it's really something that makes a difference in the life of the international community. And on the global water action plan, actually an agenda that has been developed by the end of this conference. On that, we identified 9 real gamechangers. It was one of the outcomes of this conference. If we implement those 9 gamechangers, we'll have a good chance. But now, the time is for action. Because Mar del Plata, which, as you mentioned, was the last water conference in 1977, came up with brilliant ideas. Including the integrated water resource management, which was revolutionary at that time. But had no implementation of plan and no follow-up mechanism. So all the good results, all the good agreements, all the good scientific evidence remained up in the air. And Member States went in a different directions. Now we're trying to work very hard to make sure that whatever we came up with, what we agreed, there should be very strict follow-up mechanisms in institutional terms, in validation terms, in terms of investments, in terms of impact-oriented investment.\r\n\r\nNathalie:<\/strong> I think one of the key issues that was raised also was the economics of water and the financing challenges. So that was mentioned during the conference. And in terms of that, how have our current economic models with GDP impacted for you how we use our disregard water?\r\n\r\nPGA K\u0151r\u00f6si:<\/strong> It's a very interesting question, even if we apply only to water, though it can be applied to all areas of development. How we usually measure our activities, traditionally, and politicians like it, and many economists like it. We usually measure in terms of GDP. Gross domestic product. But the GDP is not a measurement for development. GDP is a measurement of the material flow and the flow of services. We need to find the measurement and the system of evaluation of our development, which is much, much broader than the material flow, and the flow of services. All our actions, all our investments, all our policies have various impacts, various implications. Some of them are the intended ones. This is usually what we count. And some others are the side impacts. Economists used to call them externalities. We usually don't count them because we don't want to count them. We are focusing on what we want to achieve, and we forget to count on what we still impact, but it is not the intentional impact. It's a very dangerous situation. Let me give you some examples of the unintentional consequences of our deeds and actions: Climate change. Water crisis. Declined biodiversity, pollution of oceans. Degradation of soil across the globe. So this is consequences. These are the crisis components that determine our lives. And we still do not pay attention enough to take on board all the impacts. Be them on human capital, social capital, natural capital, and build capital. And we are only cherry picking. If we cherry picking the results, what we get will not be corresponding to the real result of our actions in the world. Now, how does it look like in the case of water as you have asked? All our productions, all our services, all our actions do have a so-called water footprint. Each and every action needs some kind of water during the production, during the manufacturing. And that water footprint is usually not counted, very subtle counted. It means that while, with the best intention, we try to produce valuable things. We try to boost our economies. We may overuse the available food resources. We may deplete our water resources. And all of a sudden we may discover that the available water level under the ground starts to decreasing. Which is the case in most of the countries. We may discover that the available water resources get very much polluted. Unworthy even for agriculture. There is a need to pay attention to all impacts, what we have on the water resources, and there might be a good, a better economic decision of where to change the production. How to change the production. Maybe even in the agriculture. Agriculture is using 75% of the fresh water available. Maybe we will need certain produce, certain products that are very, very thirsty, very water consuming in the area where water is in scarcity. It's unfair to ask farmers that please produce very water intensive products and export it. It means that you export your non-renewable water resources. So water is more and more becoming an element what we have to take in to consideration when we design in a certain place. In a certain community, in a certain country. Products be them manufactured, or formed.\r\n\r\nNathalie:<\/strong> That's very important. And I think the discussions that are happening right now and expanding the GDP are feeding into the world being able to achieve the SDGs. So very critical.\r\n\r\nGerard:<\/strong> I think that's an excellent description and explanation that you put there, Mr. President. You know for us, for personally, from Samoa, the issue of water for us is access to clean water, which may be different from the case of Rwanda, maybe different from the case of your country in Hungary. You know, we all have these different issues that we face with. It's important now that we're taking a look at this issue because having read studies also that say we are in excess of the water supply that we're using is more than 40% at the moment, which is something that is a big number, as well, as we think about it. Rightly put with climate change and natural disasters that happen. I've seen it firsthand, as well. Access to water, which is sometimes nonexistent in countries where these are disasters.\r\n\r\nPGA K\u0151r\u00f6si:<\/strong> I fully agree with you. And we used to talk a lot about climate crisis. Rightly so. But let us not forget that climate change and climate crisis for most of our communities appears in the form of water crisis. 80% of the climate is manifested through water. And water crisis will test communities much earlier and much harsher than the temperature of the air. You can live without food for two or three weeks. You can live quite a few days or weeks without love. But you can not live without water longer than a couple of days. So we have to make sure that both the human consumption and the needs of our economies, and the needs of the environment, which is the largest producer and consumer of water, it should be met. These are the constraints. This is the good integrated water resource management.\r\n\r\nGerard:<\/strong> How can you, in your view, define transformative gamechanger? Because also, I think if people hear, you know, this is something that you always speak to as well. Gamechangers and transformative actions to find solutions. And then perhaps also if you can define the success of your term as President.\r\n\r\nPGA K\u0151r\u00f6si:<\/strong> Concerning the game changers, we use this term in quite frequently. Let me explain in the case of the SDGs. We are halfway through the period of the implementation of the SDGs. But we are way off track. In some cases, we know we are going to the wrong direction. So it is not an issue of doing the same just a little bit faster and a little bit more intensive. But doing it in a different direction. A gamechanger might be a solution that is offering you a systemic solution which is taking into consideration multiple impacts, changing the nature of the direction of our actions. Just like in the case of water, we need to learn how to integrate our water and climate policies. And you will see it will be very, very different ball game. We need to learn also, another example, how to imply science for the validation of the implementation of the commitments. And it's also a gamechanger what you mentioned, we need to develop new economics of sustainable development. So we need to develop that methodology.\r\n\r\nFor success, as you ask, I would consider success for our work together with you, in my presidency, that my daughter would not feel embarrassed of me. And I hope that Member States we will find our work useful. If they do, it means we did a good job. We were successful.\r\n\r\nGerard:<\/strong> Thank you very much, Mr. President. I feel like we could stay here all day and listen to you about the different issues that we work on.\r\n\r\nPGA K\u0151r\u00f6si:<\/strong> Thank you indeed. I'm very much counting on you. You brought very, very good perspectives into our work. Welcome on board.\r\n\r\nNathalie:<\/strong> Thank you very much. And the UN people and language like to say, let's not do business as usual. And let's take this continue to push.\r\n\r\n[Closing]<\/strong> This is the podcast of the United Nations OPGA Fellows. Thanks for listening.\r\n\r\n\u00a0\r\n\r\n\u00a0","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[659],"tags":[616],"class_list":["post-253533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opga-fellows-podcast","tag-podcast","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n